§ 664. Length of joint duty assignments

(a) General Rule.— The length of a joint duty assignment—

(1) for general and flag officers shall be not less than two years; and

(2) for other officers shall be not less than three years.

(b) Waiver Authority.— The Secretary of Defense may waive subsection (a) in the case of any officer.

(c) Initial Assignment of Officers With Critical Occupational Specialties.— The Secretary may for purposes of section 661 (c)(1)(B) of this title authorize a joint duty assignment of less than the period prescribed by subsection (a), but not less than two years, without the requirement for a waiver under subsection (b) in the case of an officer—

(1) who has a military occupational specialty designated under section 668 (d) of this title as a critical occupational specialty; and

(2) for whom such joint duty assignment is the initial joint duty assignment.

(d) Exclusions From Tour Length.— The Secretary of Defense may exclude the following service from the standards prescribed in subsection (a):

(1) Service in a joint duty assignment in which the full tour of duty in the assignment is not completed by the officer because of—

(A) retirement;

(B) release from active duty;

(D) a qualifying reassignment from a joint duty assignment—

(i) for unusual personal reasons, including extreme hardship and medical conditions, beyond the control of the officer or the armed forces; or

(ii) to another joint duty assignment immediately after—

(I) the officer was promoted to a higher grade, if the reassignment was made because no joint duty assignment was available within the same organization that was commensurate with the officer’s new grade; or

(II) the officer’s position was eliminated in a reorganization.

(2) Service in a joint duty assignment outside the United States or in Alaska or Hawaii which is less than the applicable standard prescribed in subsection (a).

(3) Service in a joint duty assignment in a case in which the officer’s tour of duty in that assignment brings the officer’s accrued service for purposes of subsection (f)(3) to the applicable standard prescribed in subsection (a).

(e) Average Tour Lengths.—

(1) The Secretary shall ensure that the average length of joint duty assignments during any fiscal year, measured by the lengths of the joint duty assignments ending during that fiscal year, meets the standards prescribed in subsection (a).

(2) In computing the average length of joint duty assignments for purposes of paragraph (1), the Secretary may exclude the following service:

(A) Service described in subsection (c).

(B) Service described in subsection (d).

(f) Full Tour of Duty.— An officer shall be considered to have completed a full tour of duty in a joint duty assignment upon completion of any of the following:

(1) A joint duty assignment that meets the standards prescribed in subsection (a).

(2) A joint duty assignment under the circumstances described in subsection (c).

(3) Accrued joint experience in joint duty assignments as described in subsection (g).

(4) A joint duty assignment outside the United States or in Alaska or Hawaii for which the normal accompanied-by-dependents tour of duty is prescribed by regulation to be at least two years in length, if the officer serves in the assignment for a period equivalent to the accompanied-by-dependents tour length.

(5) A joint duty assignment with respect to which the Secretary of Defense has granted a waiver under subsection (b), but only in a case in which the Secretary determines that the service completed by that officer in that duty assignment shall be considered to be a full tour of duty in a joint duty assignment.

(6) A second and subsequent joint duty assignment that is less than the period required under subsection (a), but not less than two years.

(g) Accrued Joint Experience.— For the purposes of subsection (f)(3), the Secretary of Defense may prescribe, by regulation, certain joint experience, such as temporary duty in joint assignments, joint individual training, and participation in joint exercises, that may be aggregated to equal a full tour of duty. The Secretary shall prescribe the regulations with the advice of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

(h) Constructive Credit.—

(1) The Secretary of Defense may accord constructive credit in the case of an officer (other than a general or flag officer) who, for reasons of military necessity, is reassigned from a joint duty assignment within 60 days of meeting the tour length criteria prescribed in paragraphs (1), (2), and (4) of subsection (f). The amount of constructive service that may be credited to such officer shall be the amount sufficient for the completion of the applicable tour of duty requirement, but in no case more than 60 days.

(2) For the purpose of computing under subsection (e) the average length of joint duty assignments during a fiscal year, the amount of any constructive service credited under this subsection with respect to a joint duty assignment to be counted in that computation shall be excluded.

U.S. Code

§ 664. Length of joint duty assignments